Soundproof
by tenteitudonadadeu
Summary: Faberry! Rachel and Quinn, from 6 to 16, from strangers, to friends, to lovers in 4 chapters. The reason why music means the world to Quinn, even when she can't hear it. AU- Quinn's deaf (not a sad thing)
1. The Girl From Across the Street

**AN: This story is a bit different from the usual Faberry, but their personalities are still the same and Glee Club still exists... (You'll see it better next chapter) Also, Quinn is deaf, but it's not a sad story! Far from it... (If anything, is just a huge piece of fluff with hints of humor and tiny doses of drama.)**

** ... **

**Part 1/4 – The Girl From Across the Street**

** Age, 6.**

** ...**

The tiny little girl rested her hands on the hips as she scanned the room critically before smiling to herself. It'd been a few weeks since she had moved to the new house and after days of sleeping in between her dads, she finally had her own bedroom.

She danced quietly for a moment, brushing her fingertips on the bright yellow walls (color she had chosen herself). She climbed into bed and jumped up and down against the soft mattress a couple of times, laughing happily until her father appeared at the door.

"So, Princess, what do ya think?"

The little girl didn't answer, just hopped out of bed and ran to him, hugging his legs tightly. Leroy laughed softly and leaned down to hug her back

"It's so pretty, daddy!" She gushed happily as he lifted her up. "Can I open my boxes now? The ones with my stuffed animals and the one with my dolls and the one with my music? Please, please, please?" She bounced anxiously on his arms.

"Of course you can, Little Star... Your papa is at the basement right now trying to find them."

She clapped with excitement and hugged his neck, eager to free her stuffed friends. "And my dance outfits? Can I have them too?"

"Mhum.." He agreed, carrying her to the walk in closet and opening the door to reveal all her clothes hanging neatly, organized by color and function. Her deep brown eyes sparkled and she squirmed until her daddy finally let her down.

She went straight to the dresses and chose a light pink tutu. "How many days and nights till I get back to my dance classes, daddy?"

"A whole month, Princess..."

"That's a lot!" She cried out, stomping her foot. She absolutely loved her singing and dance lessons, she was also thrilled about starting first grade at the grown up school, like her cousin Leon, who was already 8 and was heading to the third year.

She loved kindergarten, but also, like any child her age, couldn't wait to grow up.

"Will be over before you know it, you'll see..." Leroy answered kindly, pulling her hair up in a perfect ponytail. "Mrs. Martinez said some of the neighbors have kids too... Pretty soon, you'll make friends and then you'll want the break to last forever."

The tiny girl replied with a distant nod, losing focus of the conversation at hearing her papa's voice from the bottom of the stairs, requesting her help to bring up her toys.

...

After three days devoted to explore the interior of her new house, now completely built, the little brunette finally decided it was time to investigate the surroundings. It was August and the day was beautiful, sunny and the sky was clear. The backyard of the brick house was large and her papa, Hiram, worked deftly with a lawnmower while Leroy was engaged in hanging a swing on the big tree planted right in the middle of their garden.

Rachel sat on the low wall that separated the street from the front door as she watched the two men work. She had tried to help, but Hiram told her to stay away until the mower was off. She hummed softly to herself and looked around, trying to find evidence of other children in the neighborhood, but all the houses looked so silent and the only people on the street were old ladies who were walking with their dogs and a woman pushing a baby blue stroller.

The child inside of it was too small and Rachel didn't even bother to smile at the woman, worried about finding a more appropriate person to play with, preferably another girl. No one that fit that description appeared, and at the end of the day, the tiny brunette went back home a little disappointed.

Two days went by and after a short walk down the street (chaperoned by her dads), she gave up on meeting other kids and had no choice other than just talk with her toys and set up small concerts for them. Leroy felt a little guilty to see his daughter playing alone, he had hoped that other children would live in that street, but apparently Mrs. Martinez was wrong.

...

It was a Wednesday when they first met.

Rachel swung lazily on her red swing when the front door for the house across the street opened and a girl not much taller than herself materialized at the porch. The little brunette jumped to the ground right away, running towards the low wall.

The other girl had yellow hair that reflected the sunlight and delicate features. She held a pink teddy bear with a rainbow on his belly and Rachel smiled to notice that she had the same rainbow bear on her room, resting on top of her bed. The little blonde sat carefully on the steps and hugged the teddy, looking around until her eyes met Rachel's and widened in surprise.

Rachel felt her face split into a huge smile and promptly waved to her newest discovery. Her body was trembling with excitement and she wanted to run towards the other house so badly, but her dads had taught her it was rude to enter strange places uninvited. The girl passed the bear to her left hand before waving shyly in response.

"Hi! I'm Rach! Want to play? What's your name? Are your parents' home?" She inquired, unable to contain the whirlwind of words that bubbled up from her chest to her throat.

The other girl's eyes grew even wider and she glanced over her shoulder, as if expecting to see someone else standing in the doorway behind her. She sat still for a second before looking back at Rachel, who waved once again.

"What's your name?" She rested her hands on the stone wall, feeling the irregularities of it scratching her palms.

The little blonde shook her head no and Rachel frowned.

"No need to be shy, I'm a friend!" She said, walking up to the gate and opening it for a better view.

The girl raised a hand, drawing a circle against her chest with her small fist and a strange expression on her face.

Rachel mimicked the gesture with a questioning look, without knowing what it meant. "What is it?" She asked, stepping forward and looking both ways before crossing the street.

Once again, the little girl shook her head, more firmly this time, using the index finger to point at her ear and mouth. She repeated the movement a few times and the petite brunette didn't understand why she kept doing that.

"Have you lost your voice?" She asked, stopping near the big white house. "That happened with my papa last winter..." Being close enough, she could see that the eyes of her possible future best friend were from a beautiful shade of green that she had never seen before. "You have pretty eyes." She smiled, trying to make the other girl smile too.

The blonde's pink lips parted and Rachel clenched her fists, waiting for her to say something, but the only sound she heard was an incoherent mumble that made the blonde girl blush.

"What did you say?" She stepped closer, trying to understand.

Again, the same sound reached her ears, louder this time, and soon followed by a shriek that made her eyes bulge.

"Why are you yelling?" She asked, raising her voice.

The little blonde girl glanced over her shoulder once more and squeezed her teddy bear, repeating the circle against her chest with watery eyes before running back into the house.

"Wait! I just wanted..." She tried to say, but the door closed with a bang in her face and she was left alone, feeling helpless. Had she done something wrong? Why the girl had run away from her?

She sniffled, feeling a horrible tightness in her chest and crossed the street back to the brick house, wiping the tears that streamed down her face with the back of her hand.

"What happened?" Leroy inquired when he saw her running into the living room. Rachel hugged him tightly and cleaned her nose on his white shirt. "Rach, little star, are you hurt?"

"The girl from across the street don't want to be my friend!" She said between sobs and he cradled her gently, trying to calm her down before asking for more information.

The tiny brunette breathed shakily against his neck while grabbing his shirt with all the strength of a six year old and he was about to ask again what happened when the doorbell rang. Leroy squeezed her a little, kissing her hair before letting her down.

"Go wash your face, little star.. Then you can explain me what happened, okay?"

She nodded and went into the bathroom, climbing on a stool so she could reach the sink while her daddy answered the door.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Rachel heard his voice as she shut the faucet.

"Not sure." Said a booming male voice. "My daughter came home yelling and when I asked what happened she just brought me here."

The brunette got off the stool and wiped her hands, peering through the bathroom door to find a blond man and the girl from across the street standing by the door. A light seemed to flash through the green eyes and the little blonde pulled her dad's shirt, pointing towards Rachel.

"Rachel?" Leroy called, looking over his shoulder and making a sign to the neighbors. "Is this the girl you told me about?"

"Yes, it's her!" Rachel stopped beside him, leaning against his leg, trying to smile at the little girl, but worried she might start screaming again. "I went to say hi and she ran away from me..."

"Oh.." The blond man looked at his daughter in understanding.

"I swear I didn't say anything bad! I just said hi! "Rachel hurried to explain.

"I think there was a misunderstanding here..." The man continued, resting a protective hand on his daughter's back. The little blonde's eyes were fixed on Rachel and the tiny brunette bit her lip and shuffled on her feet.

"What do you mean with misunderstanding?" Leroy questioned, assuming the same defensive posture regarding Rachel without realizing he was doing it.

The man squatted and looked at the tiny brunette. "Quinn didn't mean to scare you. She ran inside to call me because..." He cleared his throat, glancing at the black man who still stood behind Rachel, and making the gesture with his index finger, moving it from ear to mouth, like Quinn had done before. "Quinn is deaf."

...

"Deaf?" Rachel echoed, peering at the blonde, who still stared at her intently.

Leroy's hard eyes softened, and his posture changed. He looked at the girl with golden hair and sighed before explaining. "It means she can't hear, little star..."

Rachel frowned and looked at her daddy blankly. The idea of not being able to hear made no sense for her, who had always lived in a world full of music and sounds. "Like when you're underwater in the pool?"

"Kind of..." He tried to think of a better way to explain it when realized that Quinn and her dad were still standing at the door. "Would you like to come in?"

The blond man signed to the little girl and she nodded her head.

"I think so.. But we can't stay long, we have to pick up my wife at work and my other daughter is home alone with a 'friend'." He grimaced when saying the word 'friend' and Leroy smiled to himself, thinking that in a few years he would probably be making the same face when Rachel started to bring her own 'friends' to the house (he had no idea how wrong he was at the time).

They entered the living room and sat down. Quinn looked around with wide eyes, as if absorbing every inch of the place.

"Want to play with me?" Rachel asked her, innocently.

"She can't hear what you say, Princess.."

"But ..." She looked at the little blonde, who swayed her legs off the couch, happily distracted. "How do I do to talk with her?"

"When somebody can't hear, they have to use their hands to speak." Russell told her, as if used to explaining that.

Rachel looked at her hands, still very tiny. "And how do I do to do that?"

"What do you want to say to her?" He asked in response.

Rachel thought for a second. "Hi."

He grinned and made the sign for 'hi'. Touching his forehead lightly, and then lowering his hand.

Rachel looked up and mirrored the gesture. "Like this?"

"Yeah..." He nudged his daughter's shoulder, pointing at Rachel with his head.

"Hi.." signed Rachel, earning a wide smile in response that made her heart flip inside her chest.

Quinn began signing frantically towards her and the small brunette widened her eyes looking at Russell without knowing what to do. The blond man laughed and put a hand over his daughter's, receiving an almost comic glare from the little girl.

"Calm down..." he signed, talking aloud so that Leroy and Rachel could understand what he was saying. "She doesn't know sign language yet..."

Quinn's shoulders fell in disappointment and once again the little brunette felt something strange in her heart. The blonde girl took a deep breath and made the circle sign against her chest again.

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, straightening up on the edge of her seat.

"She's apologizing..."

"Ohhh... She did that before running away."

Leroy arched an eyebrow. "Very polite..."

Russell translated the compliment and Quinn smiled at him, sitting up and feeling proud. She looked at Rachel and signed something.

"My name is Quinn." Her father reproduced the signs to every word so that the little brunette could follow. "This is my sign." He asked her to repeat the gesture and she made a movement transforming a Q in F quickly. "We give a sign to everyone, it's like your name, but in ASL. It's easier than having to spell it all the time..." Russell explained before anyone could ask. "This is mine." He made the letter R and placed it above his lip like a mustache.

Quinn shook his arm, drawing attention back to herself.

"She wants to know your name."

"Rachel!" Exclaimed the brunette. "How do I tell her that?"

Russell spelled letter by letter of her name and the brunette reproduced them with ease, just missing the H, which was the hardest. "What did she say?" The little girl asked anxiously at seeing Quinn signing.

"She said it looks like my name. Rachel and Russell." He laughed softly and nodded to his daughter, who also smiled and asked if Rachel had a sign. "No, not yet, why don't you give her one?"

"What is she saying?" The tiny brunette jumped off the couch and put a hand on the blond men's leg, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"She asked if you have a sign and I told her to give you one." He paused and blonde girl kept talking. "She said she can't give you one because she doesn't know you yet, but will think of a really cool sign for you."

Rachel beamed and Quinn did the same. "How do I ask if she wants to be friends with me?"

Russell started to translate to his daughter, but the little brunette interrupted.

"No! _I _want to ask her!"

He blinked a few times, a bit surprised by her reaction. Usually people were afraid to talk to Quinn and he was used to translate the world for her. But at that moment he realized that his daughter had just made her first real friend and that whatever started between them that day would last for the rest of their lives (and he was more than right about that).

He taught the signs quickly to the brunette and she asked the question, with a little difficulty at the 'want'. Quinn stared at her and then looked at her daddy. She trembled on the couch, smiling and making a sound like "Mmmhumm" while firmly nodding with her head.

She glanced at her dad and pointed to herself and Rachel, making the sign for 'friend' and then the one for 'play'. "She wants to know if you are going to play with her now that you're friends."

"Of course she will!" Leroy answered. "Quinn can come and play with Rachel whenever she wants..."

Russell translated and Quinn boosted to the ground, jumping next to Rachel and wrapping her in a spontaneous hug. Rachel chuckled against her ear as the blonde just kept humming.

"Can she play here now?" The tiny brunette questioned, grabbing Quinn's hand in hers, ready to take her new friend to meet her new bedroom.

The blond man looked at his watch and his eyebrows rose considerably. "We're already late! I guess not today, dear..." He signed something to Quinn and the little girl let go of Rachel's hand to respond. "But tomorrow morning I can drop her here before work if you don't mind."

"There would be no problem. I'm on vacation until September, so they will not be alone..." Answered Leroy.

"Great.. My older daughter will be happy not having to babysit tomorrow." He stood up. "Let's go Quinn? Say goodbye to your friend..." He signed.

Quinn waved her goodbye to Rachel before accepting her dad's hand, making a last gesture with her thumb near her cheek.

"Yes, baby girl..." Russell grinned. "She said 'see you tomorrow'."

...

**AN: I actually had to research the signs in ASL (American Sign Language) because I only knew the ones in Portuguese and they're completely different.. :P I'm also not sure about terminology.. Like, how to translate the act of talking in signs... Hope is not weird.. **

**Next: Quinn teaches Rachel and they become real friends..**

** Please, review if you're enjoying this... The more reviews I get, sooner I'll update ;)**


	2. Learning to Use your Hands

**AN: Thank you all for the reviews and alerts and favorites! You're all amazing!**

_**Important: Sign conversations are in italic.**_

** Levi : Really?! Well, I hope you like it... :D **

** English is not my first language, so forgive my mistakes.. Enjoy!**

** ...**

**Part 2/4 - Learning to Use your Hands**

** ...**

**Age 6 - the day after.**

** ...**

It was 6 a.m. and little Rachel was already up, peeking through the kitchen door while a yawning Hiram stumbled towards the coffee machine. He looked up and met her big brown eyes with his.

"Rachel, little star... what are you doing up?"

"How many hours and minutes for my friend to come and play with me?" Rachel asked, walking into the kitchen and sitting on one of the big chairs, resting her hands on the table and staring expectantly at her papa.

"At least two hours, Princess." Hiram rounded the counter and kissed her hair.

"When the big hand gets where?" She asked, looking at the large cream colored clock hanging above the door.

"The big hand has to be on 12 and the little hand must be pointing to the 8." He replied, pouring coffee in a pink mug with a white hand print on it (Mother's Day gift Rachel had made on kinder garden the previous year) and putting it on the table before opening the fridge in search of milk for his daughter's cereal.

"Why is it that you and Daddy like coffee so much, papa?" The little girl used her Minnie spoon to make a foam swirl in the dark brown liquid.

"Er..." Hiram ran a hand through his bed hair, trying to smooth it down. "Because it's a drink for grown up's, Princess."

"Can I try a little sip?" She raised her bright eyes to her papa and the man smashed his lips together. He could never resist that look.

"You've tried once and didn't like it, remember?" He poured the star shaped cereal into a bowl and added milk.

She pouted. "Yes, but I tried daddy's, not yours!"

"Is the same thing, Rachel."

"Just a little tiny sip, pleeeeease?" She asked, clutching the mug's handle.

Hiram sighed. "Okay, just a sip."

The little girl smiled and took the mug to her lips before blowing the steam away and trying a little, making a face right after the first taste.

"Eww! Is very yucky!"

"I told you so." Chuckled Hiram. "Here, eat your cereal, the bad taste will go away."

...

Rachel swayed her legs impatiently. She was sitting on the couch watching a cartoon with her daddy. In theory, that is. Her eyes strayed from the TV every 5 seconds to inspect the hall and the clock that stood above the fireplace.

"The big hand's already on 12, Daddy!" She exclaimed, standing up and running to the window to spy on house across the street. "Why is she not here yet?"

"It is still early, little star..." Leroy explained, smiling at his daughter antics.

"But papa's already left. And it is 8 in the morning... and... and... What if she doesn't want to play with me?" Her rushed words fogged up the glass and she used her hand to clean it every time.

"Don't worry, she'll be here soon... And if she doesn't come, we can stop by her house after lunch."

"But I want her to be here now and..." She was cut off as the white house's door opened and she held her breath for a split second. "She's coming! She's coming!" Her little hand reached for the door knob in time to find a blonde woman ringing the doorbell.

"Oh, hello..." The woman said, looking at the beaming little brunette.

Quinn waved at Rachel while holding her mother's hand and the gesture got the brunette rocking on her feet, filled with energy.

"So, you must be Rachel..." She smiled. "I'm Judy, Quinn's mommy. I've heard a lot about you last night."

"Really?"

"This one haven't stopped talking either.. She could barely sleep, so anxious about her new friend..." Laughed Leroy, finally reaching the door. "Leroy." He held out a hand to Judy.

"Nice to meet you. My husband said you'll be home all day, hope it's not a problem to leave her here..."

"Not a problem at all..." Leroy smiled.

"Our older daughter will be home, whatever you need, just call her." She drew a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Here are our phones, the sign for mom is like this.." She placed her thumb against her chin. Rachel mimicked the sign, wanting to learn how to talk to her new friend and seeing it as an opportunity.

Judy went through some other important signs before picking up her daughter in a tight embrace. Quinn had never been alone in a place where no one knew sign language before.

"She understands a little lip reading, but you have to be facing her and speak slowly. We started out with speech therapy at the beginning of the year, so she manages to oralize some things too, but not much. It's very hard to talk without ever having heard anything before..."

The woman kissed the little girl's forehead before letting her down next to Rachel. _"Behave, I love you."_ She signed.

"_I love you too, Mommy." _Quinn replied with a smile before waving and Judy gave her one last concerned look before leaving.

As soon as the door closed, the little blonde found herself being dragged by the hand to the stairway. Rachel led her to her room and Quinn could see her lips moving a mile a minute, but didn't mind not understanding, smiling to herself about the prospect of playing with someone other than the school kids (that she considered too annoying and boring, and hadn't seen in over a month).

"This is my bedroom!" Rachel announced, opening her arms and watching Quinn look around with wide eyes.

The brunette's room was so colorful and crowded with toys and girl things... Quinn quickly gravitated toward the pile of stuffed animals beside the bed. She loved stuffed animals and Rachel's collection was almost as big as her own.

"You like them?" The brunette asked, seeing her take Gina the Giraffe by the neck and caress the soft fur of her mane. "My papa, Hiram says they will soon dominate my whole room and I think I'll have to give some of them to the kids that are too poor to buy them at Christmas... But I don't want to do that because they are all my friends and I don't know if another kid would take care of them right. I can give them to you if you want. Oh! They can stay at your home and I can go and see them whenever I want. I think it would be cool and I..."

Quinn, who was staring at her with a blank expression, stepped forward and covered her mouth with her hand, making Rachel' eyes grow wide. The blonde dropped the Giraffe and moved her free hand up and down, making the sign for "_calm down"._ She shook her head and touched her temple with index and thumb, trying to say she wasn't understanding.

Rachel raised her eyebrows, also without understand, and pulled Quinn's hand away from her mouth. "Daaaaddy!" She screamed and in less than a second, Leroy materialized at the door.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" He asked worriedly, looking out of place in the overly girly room.

"Daddy, what is she saying?"

Leroy sighed. "What your papa and I told you about screaming like that?"

"Sorry..." She looked down at her own feet and he crouched, facing Quinn.

"What is it, sweetie?" He asked slowly, as Judy said she would understand.

The little girl pointed to Rachel and made a face, moving her mouth as if speaking before shaking her head and once again touching her temple.

"Rachel, were you speaking to her?"

"Yes?" The tiny brunette replied in a questioning tone.

"She can't hear what you say... You have to talk to her with gestures."

"But I don't know how!"

"You'll have to learn..."

Quinn nudged his arm and pointed to herself and then to Rachel and made the sign of 'my house', which Leroy understood, though he was not sure what she meant. He nodded and watched her face turn into a great big smile. The little girl grabbed the brunette's hand and pointed outside.

"What do I do, Daddy?" Rachel asked, feeling her friend slightly tugging at her arm.

"I think you go with her."

Quinn took her outside and opened the gate, pulling her towards the big white house. She rang the bell several times until a 15 year old with an angry look in pink pajamas slammed de door open.

...

Francine Fabray rolled her eyes at her little sister, who entered the house with the tiniest little girl she had ever seen in tow.

"What are you doing here?" She wondered aloud, signing widely.

_"Teach her how to talk with me."_ Quinn demanded, dropping Rachel's hand and facing her sister, not at all frightened by her irritation.

"_Why would I?"_

The little blonde crossed her arms and opened her mouth, letting out a shriek just as sharp as the previous day, which made Rachel stare at her in awe. She herself could not scream that loud.

"Quinn!" Francine cried out, a little more awake and considerably more annoyed. _"How ugly! You know screaming is bad!"_

_"Teach her!"_

_"How do you expect me to do that?"_

_"Tell her the name for my signs."_

_"I have other things to do and this is too hard." _Rachel looked from one to the other, trying to understand what was going on. _"And daddy said I wouldn't have to take care of you today."_

_"I'll tell Mommy you didn't want to help me and she'll ground you forever!"_ Quinn repeated the sign of 'grounded' once again, pressing her bent fingers into the palm of her hand. Francine felt like laughing. It was almost funny to see a child her size signing like a grownup.

"Why don't _you_ teach her?" Fran asked, signing at the same time and earning a look from the tiny brunette.

_"She keeps talking with her mouth!"_

_"You have to show her signs so she can talk without her mouth."_

_ "She doesn't understand me." _Quinn stomped her foot and Francine sighed.

She looked around and her eyes fell upon a small children's book that rested on the couch.

_ "Okay.." _She signed._ "But then you're going to play at her house."_

Quinn smiled adorably, making her sister's eyes roll before sitting in front of them with the book in hands.

"So, you are Rachel?" She asked, running a hand through her hair.

Rachel nodded and sat Indian style beside Quinn. "What were you talking about before?"

"She wants me to teach you to understand what she says. And my sister always gets what she wants..." She said the last part under her breath. "She told me you were talking with your mouth, but she can't hear if you don't use your hands." Fran tried to explain. "You'll have to ask her to show you the signs of things and then you'll learn, okay?"

The tiny brunette nodded with a determined gleam in her eyes that was rather intense for a child her age. Francine chuckled.

"Ok.." She scratched her head, considering what kind of signs could be important in the communication between two toddlers. "Play!" She began, signaling with two "Y".

"Like this?" Rachel tried to reproduce, positioning her fingers the wrong way.

"Almost ..." Fran was about to help her, but Quinn was faster. The little blonde took her friend's small hand and folded her fingers the right way, making the sign of applause when the petite brunette managed to do it correctly.

...

Fran spent the next hour showing signs for Rachel, until she decided that the two little girls had enough words to communicate without her.

_"That's enough."_ She stood up. _"I'm going back to sleep. Use the book to show her more signs and don't bother me anymore."_

Quinn scowled and stuck her tongue out at her sister before grabbing the little book with one hand and Rachel's arm with the other.

"Bye, Quinn's sister!" Rachel said before being dragged back to the brick house.

...

The two little girls sat on the backyard and Quinn examined the little book with a concentrated expression before pointing to the figure on the first page, a girl with red hair. She made the sign for woman and saw her new friend get it right in the first try.

She taught her the colors and some animals that were in the story, as well as the letters that appear in the text that she still couldn't read. Soon, the amount of information became too much for the little brunette, who started getting distracted by other things, such as the hair clip that kept Quinn's bangs away from her eyes.

A small golden star.

Rachel watched it shine with the sun while the little blonde kept gesturing and pointing to things in the book. The sound of incoherent babbling brought her back to reality. Quinn stared at her in a mix of anxiety and annoyance and the brunette pointed to the hair clip, hesitating before making the sign for 'pretty' that Fran had taught earlier.

The blonde took a hand to her hair and smiled, picking up the little star between her fingers and letting her bangs fall wildly around her eyes. She did the sign for 'star' and Rachel mimicked, smiling too. She loved stars. Her dads always said she would be a big star one day, like all of those women who appeared on TV and sang on Broadway.

She wanted to say that she loved stars, but didn't know how to sign the word love, so she just said it out loud. She wasn't sure if Quinn had understood, but what the little blonde did next surprised her and for the third time in two days, Rachel felt her heart do a somersault.

Quinn got to her knees, leaving the book aside and, very carefully, clipped the tiny star on her new friend's very dark hair, pulling away to see how it looked on her.

_"Beautiful..."_ she signed with a satisfied grin.

"Girls! Lunch is ready! "Leroy yelled from inside the house, coaxing Rachel to stand up.

"Let's eat!" She exclaimed, realizing she was hungry and pretending to eat something invisible. It wasn't the proper sign for food, but Quinn understood and followed her into the house.

...

They ate and played, Rachel tried to share a bit of her world of sounds with Quinn, showing her favorite movies and even making the blonde clap along with the song she was singing. They colored and engaged in a stuffed animal war that didn't pleased Leroy very much.

Then Quinn's parents came to pick her up by dinner time and the two little girls hugged each other, satisfied with the day they had shared and tired for all the things they had done. Soon, it became routine and they couldn't even spend a single day apart. Rachel got a sign from her new best friend (the star sign, but done with the letter 'r'), she loved it, obviously, and showed it to everyone she knew, loving the attention she received when talked about Quinn to her dads' friends.

Summer went by so fast and the girls went to different schools. But they would still see each other on weekends and even during the week, when they managed to bug their parents hard enough.

And they really became best friends...

At first it was so hard for Rachel not to talk. She was talkative by nature and it was not as if she forgot that Quinn could not hear (most of the time), but it was so easy to get into ramble mode that she just couldn't contain herself. Still, there was something in the other girl that affected her deeply and, even though they were only six, she felt the need to learn...

Learn to respect the silence and express herself in different ways.

And with time, she truly did..

**...**

**AN: Next – Lots of time jumps, we get to see how they started to fall in love with each other.. It's also longer than this one..**

**Please review!**

**If you review, I'll do my best to update it tomorrow! :D**


	3. What we Shared

**AN: Heeey guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews! I wanna hug every single one of you, but that would be really hard considering I have to be at work tomorrow, so I'll just say 'thanks' again: Thanks! :D**

**And enjoy!**

**...**

**Part 3/4 – What we Shared...**

**Age, 8.**

Rachel knocked on the white house's door, hugging her newest acquisition firmly against her chest, as if the object could come to life and run away if she didn't hold tight enough.

"Look who's here..." Russell grinned. "Hello, Rachel, how is summer break going?"

The brunette smiled brightly at him. "Very wonderful, Uncle Russ... Is Quinn home?" She asked, trying to see behind him through the door.

"Yes, she is coloring in the living room... Come on in." He stepped aside and Rachel flew past him, running towards the living room and finding her best friend sitting on the floor in between notebooks and crayons.

"Quinn!" She called, trying to contain her excitement. "Look what I got!" Obviously, there was no response and she rolled her eyes at herself. After two years she still managed to forget that the blonde could not hear. "QUINN!" She screamed louder, stomping her foot hard against the wooden floor, causing it to vibrate and smiling when her friend's head turned her way.

Quinn's greenish eyes were wide and looked around, as if trying to find a reason beyond the small brunette for the mini earthquake she had just felt. Rachel bounced up to her and sat by her side on the new and expensive rug which had been christened with grape juice a few days ago (much to the horror of one Mrs. Fabray).

_"Look what I got!"_ The brunette signed precariously, using only one hand while the other held her newest copy of Funny Girl.

Quinn glanced at the box, looking unimpressed. She didn't know many movies, it wasn't much fun to watch TV on mute (except for cartoons, cartoons were always fun).

_"Can we watch it?"_ The brunette looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Pleeeeeeeeease?" She spoke aloud, signing exaggeratedly. Rachel knew that Quinn didn't like watching movies because it was difficult to understand without hearing, but that was her favorite musical in the world and she wanted to share it with her best in the world. Not to mention that Quinn's TV was bigger than the one she had at home and she didn't want to miss the chance of seeing Barbra on a giant screen (32'' seemed giant at the time).

The blonde looked at the ceiling, trying to fake annoyance but smiling nonetheless. It was funny when Rachel begged for things. She didn't answer at first, trying to think what might come with the movie if she agreed with it.

"_Can we have popcorn too?"_

Rachel nodded vigorously, and hugged her best friend's neck tightly.

She stood up and set the movie on the DVD player before running to the kitchen. "Aunt Judy!" she shouted, making the older blonde jump, slightly startled, with one hand clutching her chest and a wooden spoon in the other. "Quinn wants popcorn, can you make some for us?"

Judy shook her head. "It's almost dinner time and..."

"Pleeeeeeeeease, just a little bit! Or Quinn won't watch the movie with me!" She rested a hand on the counter, jumping a little without exactly leaving the ground. "It's important to me..." She said softly, using the voice that always worked to convince her dads to do anything she wanted.

Judy sighed. "Okay... But only a little and only this time."

"Yaay!" Rachel said. "You're the best, Aunt Judy..." She hugged her briefly before skipping back to the room.

"_Where's my popcorn?"_

_"It takes a while to pop, you know?" _She settled down, propping her back against the couch and starting the movie._ "I'll turn on the captions, so you can understand it too..."_

Quinn nodded her head, snuggling beside her and smiling a little when she felt Rachel's (still very tiny) hand involve hers. She tried with all her might to pay attention to the movie, but the subtitles were too fast and even though she already knew how to read (sort of), she couldn't really follow what they were saying. And honestly, she didn't recognize most of the words.

Then her mom came with the popcorn and she gave up trying to understand the story, being content to just contemplate her friend's face and how it seemed to express an enormous range of emotions at the same time. She stretched her legs and folded them again before lying on her stomach, resting her chin on her hands and trying to get back on watching, but the story no longer made sense.

She stared at the woman with the big nose on the screen and it was obvious she was singing, or perhaps she was trying to suck other people's air, no one speaks with their mouth opened like that. She crawled over to the TV and put a hand at the sound exit, feeling the tiny vibrations of music and closing her eyes for a second, pretending she could actually hear.

_"What are you doing?"_ Rachel asked as she turned to open her eyelids.

_"Listening to music."_

The brunette scrunched up her nose in confusion.

_"Translate the big nosed Lady for me."_ Quinn demanded, standing up and leaning back against the sound exit, feeling the small holes vibrate against her spine.

_"She is not the 'big nosed Lady', that's Barbra, and her nose is perfectly normal."_

_"Just like yours."_

The brunette glared at her. _"I'm not playing with you anymore. And I won't translate anything either, if you don't stop being mean."_

Quinn chewed on her lip. She was terrible at knowing when to say things and when to keep her mouth (or hands) shut and sometimes people would be offended_. "Sorry. I like your nose. Now translate. Please?"_

Rachel bit the inside of her cheek, she couldn't stay mad at Quinn for too long. She paused the movie and took off her shoes, climbing on the couch and pretending it was a stage. She cleared her throat and began singing a slower version (in order to translate in time) of 'Don't Rain on My Parade'.

Her voice was flawless and she wished that, only for a moment, her friend could hear her. She signed naturally, spelling words that didn't know how to translate and Quinn smiled, despite finding the lyrics completely weird and surreal, because she knew that the sun wasn't really a ball of butter, and people couldn't actually fly and wondered why anyone would have an apple in the eye...

...

**Age, 10.**

"Let me take Quinn downstairs? I know it's not ready and that there's wires on the floor and dust and everything else, but the guy said the sound system is ready and I wanted to test it out and I would love to show it to Quinn because the stage floor is made of wood and she can feel the music and you know how much she likes that... Please Daddy! I promise I'll wash the dishes every day this week!" She held his hand, swaying from side to side. Quinn just stared at the scene, trying to imagine what her friend might be saying and attempting to read her lips, but Rachel always talked so fast it was almost impossible to understand, even if she wasn't deaf. "It's important to me..." She pouted.

Leroy scowled. His daughter really knew how to get what she wanted. He blamed Hiram for it (simply because someone had to be the scape goat). He looked at the blond girl facing him with a peaceful expression. He always found it amusing how the two girls seemed balance each other.

"Okay... But be careful."

"We will, I promise!" Rachel agreed, already dragging her friend over to the basement door.

"And you're doing the dishes for a whole month!" He said just before the door slammed shut behind them.

...

"Our old basement is now a music room!" Rachel announced, turning the lights on and making Quinn twirl before translating what she had just said. The place was not fully ready, there were light cables scattered all over the floor as well as a thick layer of gray dust that had yet to be cleaned.

But the sound system had been set up that morning and Rachel was exceptionally excited about that. She couldn't wait for her pink microphone that was supposed to arrive within that week, than she would be able to sing like a real superstar!

_"Sit here..."_ Signed the brunette, tracing a circle with her foot center stage (the circle was actually visible through the dust).

Quinn frowned_. "It's dirty."_

_"It's just dust!"_

The blonde glanced down her light blue polka dot dress_. "If mommy gets mad I'll say it's your fault."_

Rachel placed a hand on her hip. _"Just sit! I want to show you something!"_

Quinn closed her eyes and grudgingly sat down, trying not to think about what her mother would say when she came home with a dress all stained. The petite brunette poked her cheek and the blond blinked, finding her friend kneeling in front of her with a black remote in hands.

Rachel beamed and pressed the power button, making music echo through the room at full volume. Quinn's eyes widened. The stage was made of wood and the speakers were positioned at the sides, the sound coming out of them made the whole structure vibrate (it also made tiny specks of dust fly all over the place, which, thanks to the sunlight that filtered through the small windows, was paradoxically beautiful).

_"Music..."_ Rachel said, watching her friend's face morph into a huge smile and her hands touch the dirty floor tentatively. The brunette could hear Quinn was humming, as she always did when she was happy or excited about something. Rachel was pretty sure the blonde didn't even notice the sound she was making.

The little brunette stepped back, standing in front of Quinn and starting to dance and translating the song playing on the radio, 'Complicated' by Avril Lavigne (it was a hit by then). But Quinn wasn't paying any attention to her friend, too absorbed in the vibrations and wanting to be able to feel it better.

Everybody talked about how much they liked music and all she wanted was to understand the mystery behind it and also, why her mother always cried when she listened a woman named Celine Dion sing. She felt the rhythm change along with the music, which was now 'Get This Party Started' by Pink. The vibrations were more defined and intense and she laid on the floor, completely forgetting about the filth.

A few seconds went by and then Rachel jumped on top of her, straddling her legs, looking a little annoyed.

_"I was translating for you!"_ She complained, crossing her arms over her chest, but then smiling to see the sparkle in Quinn's eyes. She leaned down and started tickling at her sides and neck, making the blond squirm.

Quinn closed her eyes in an overdose of sensations, the music and the tickling and the light weight that was Rachel on top of her legs. She felt something warm flood her chest and her lips parted, allowing a soft giggle to escape her throat.

Rachel stopped moving and stared at her friend in surprise at the sound she had just heard. She realized that in 4 years she had never heard Quinn's laugh. The blonde smiled a lot, and hummed or yelled when she was happy, but that sound was something totally new and unexpectedly musical. Her heart skipped a beat, just as it had when she first met Quinn and she found herself laughing as well.

Unconsciously, that soft and sweet giggle became her favorite song.

...

**Age, 13. – Winter.**

_"I'm coming with you!"_

_"No you're not! Hospitals are no place for children! "_

_"I'm 13 already! I want to see Frannie!"_

Russell watched the argument between his daughter and wife for a few more minutes before he decided to intervene.

"You're staying at Rachel's, that's final!" He exclaimed, signing at the same time. "It's not time for fighting! Your sister is in the hospital and I'm leaving now! "He put a hand on his younger daughter's shoulder. _"I promise I'll call when we have news."_

Her eyes were filled with tears, but she knew better than to reason with her dad. She hugged him and nodded.

"_I'm scared..."_

_"It'll be okay... The doctor said it wasn't that serious and she was conscious when she got to the hospital."_ It had been a couple of minutes that the phone had rung at the Fabrays, bringing not so good news. Apparently, Francine had been involved in a car crash and had been taken hurriedly to the hospital.

Judy and Russell were heading there, but didn't want to take Quinn with them. It was late and the blonde had classes in the morning. Not to mention that she was too nervous and the hospital would do nothing to calm her down. They explained the situation to the Berry men and the blonde was left with them for the night.

...

Rachel exited her bathroom to find a crestfallen Quinn sitting on her bed. She walked to her and noticed that small tears streamed from her eyes and dripped from the tip of her nose. She stopped in front of her and wiped a few droplets with her sleeve before asking what happened.

Quinn told her, crying a little as she signed. She was nervous and scared because Joe's dad, her classmate, had died in a car accident earlier that year. She didn't want her sister to die.

_"She not going to, everything's gonna be ok."_ Rachel responded, hugging her carefully before heading to her dad's room to request them to call Russell and see how things were going.

Fran was in surgery.

She informed Quinn while thinking of something they could do that would help to distract her. She bit her lip, and looked around the room finding that _Wall-E_ was at the top of her DVD stack. Rachel grabbed the box and held it in front of her face, peering through the side to see a tiny smile form on her friend's trembling lips.

_Wall-E_ was Quinn's favorite movie, because there was nearly no talks and she could understand the story without having to read subtitles that went by too quickly. The two girls settled under the covers and Rachel started stroking Quinn's golden hair while watching the film. She always felt better when she was sad and her somebody would stroke her hair, and hoped the gesture would make her friend feel better too.

The blonde's hair smelled really good, sweet, but not too sweet, it was soft and familiar. And Rachel's chest was so hot. Quinn could feel the heat against her cheek, along with the strong beat of Rachel's heart and a slight vibration caused by her breathing.

Sometimes Quinn imagined how wonderful it would be to actually hear things, but then she thought about how wonderful it was to feel... She knew that by being deaf, she could feel better than others. Perceive sounds even without listening and notice subtle changes that most listeners wouldn't, such as the way Rachel's heart pace changed with Quinn's every move and intake of breath.

...

An hour later, Leroy went into his daughter's room to see how Quinn was and offer some hot chocolate. He grinned when found the two girls already asleep, completely tangled in each other. The blonde rested her head on Rachel's chest with a tense expression on her face, which contrasted with the slight smile that graced the little brunette's lips.

He turned off the TV and pulled the flowery blanket up the two, kissing their heads before retreating.

...

It was two in the morning when he reentered the room, holding the phone to his chest. He turned the lights on and Quinn stirred, burying her face on Rachel's neck.

Leroy approached and called Rachel softly. The brunette blinked her eyes open and pulled out a hand from under the covers in order to rub the sleep away.

"Little Star, Quinn's dad just called." Leroy ran a hand through her hair, waiting for her to be fully awake before proceeding. "He said that Frannie is out of surgery and she's okay, she had a ruptured spleen, but the doctors managed to stop the bleeding." Rachel nodded, biting her lip in relief. She liked Frannie and was worried about her. Not to mention that she simply hated seeing her best friend so sad. "She also fractured some ribs and had her chin stitched up, but is out of danger." He smiled. "You tell Quinn?"

Rachel nodded and realized that the blonde's face was pressed against her neck. Her breath was ticklish and for some reason, the little brunette blushed. She backed up a little and shook Quinn's shoulder gently. Her heart pounded in her throat as Quinn's eyes fluttered open. Those eyes that were once just green, but over time had collected small golden specks (like the stars Rachel loved so much) and at that moment managed to contain both colors in a sea of dark green that sparkled.

One of her hands was trapped under Quinn, so she pointed to her own mouth, speaking slowly so the blonde could read her lips.

"Your dad called, Frannie will be okay." She took her free hand to her temple, making the sign of 'got it?' after speaking.

Quinn breathed through her nose, her jaw relaxed in relief. "Yes," she oralized quietly. The sound of her voice made the little diva smile. It was always a surprise when the blonde would use her voice and Rachel loved being surprised that way, even if her words were always short and simple. "Thanks." She muttered, and turned back to bury her face on the brunette's neck once again.

Rachel felt warm tears against her skin and ran her fingers through Quinn's hair delicately before calling her daddy to turn off the light so they could go back to sleep.

**...**

**Age, 15.**

It was mid-September, a Wednesday between the beginning of sophomore year and Quinn's 16th birthday on the 23rd. The two girls were crossing the mall toward the food court while talking animatedly. Or rather, Rachel talked and the blond tried to walk and pay attention to her hands without tripping over her feet.

Rachel was excited, it was her second year of high school and apparently the choir teacher (Sandy Something) had been fired and she finally succeeded in joining the Glee Club. She talked about the other members and how they were not as good as her, but still sounded decent enough, and about this one boy, Finn, who was a great singer but wasn't really in the club yet.

_"And if we gather enough members, we'll be able to compete at Sectionals and if we win Sectionals, we'll classify to Regionals and then Nationals and the trophy is enormous and so beautiful and all golden and red and I want it so badly!"_

Quinn chuckled. Rachel couldn't use commas even when signing.

_"You're gonna win. You have the most beautiful voice..."_

Rachel smiled widely, hooking an arm to the blonde's and accepting the compliment (even though Quinn didn't really know how her voice sounded, but that was irrelevant to her).

Getting to the ice cream parlor, the blonde went to grab a table while Rachel bought two cherry and chocolate cones (chocolate was her favorite and cherry was Quinn's and the two agreed that the flavors were even better together). Quinn accepted her cone and had a large scoop, licking her lips before pressing an icy kiss to her best friend's cheek.

Rachel giggled, running a hand through her own face and feeling it sticky with ice cream. Quinn always did that, since they were little...

They ate and talked about Quinn's school and her new classmates and her new History teacher that despite being deaf, managed to know less signs than Hiram (which was saying something because the shortest Berry men had an absurdly hard time learning the language).

_"Don't be mean..."_ Signed Rachel, with a blue plastic spoon in her mouth. _"You don't know his story. Perhaps he was prohibited from using signs as a child, like your Arts teacher."_

_"If she could learn after 30 years, he should too." _Quinn pointed out._ "You learned pretty fast..."_

_"I had the best teacher." _Winked the brunette, with a somehow coy smile on her face, making the blonde's cheeks turn pink and her heart beat a little faster.

Quinn glanced away, feeling her hands become clammy all of a sudden (it had been some time now, that would happen whenever she was around Rachel and it was very unsettling). She looked around for a much needed distraction when spotted familiar blond hair by the cashier and waved to Sam, the new boy who had entered her class that year.

He smiled innocently and waved back, coming towards them with his vanilla ice cream in hand.

_"Hi,"_ he gestured to Rachel before sitting in the vacant chair in front of them without asking for permission.

Quinn introduced them quickly and the brunette felt vaguely irritated by the boy's presence, in her defense, that afternoon was supposed to be _their_ afternoon (the classes were becoming increasingly hard and they didn't have much time to spend together as before). She also didn't like the way he looked at her friend, or the shy smile she offered him.

She felt her stomach clench when realized it was jealousy she was feeling.

Since when was she jealous of Quinn?

Rachel was very possessive and was fully aware of that, but she had never felt jealous like that before. She usually felt a bit out of place when her friend talked other people, but normally it wouldn't take long for her to join in conversation.

This time was different. She felt no desire to talk to Sam. In fact, she wanted to grab Quinn's hands so she would stop talking to him.

She noticed that Sam fumbled with some signs and scoffed at him, trying to hold back a smirk. He clearly was not smart enough for Quinn. Then her smirk faded and she covered her face with both hands, lost in feelings she wasn't ready to understand.

A warm hand gently squeezed her thigh and she looked up, finding a concerned swirl of green and gold.

_"Are you okay?"_ Quinn asked, squeezing her leg again.

Rachel nodded, self-conscious about the blonde's soft hand against her skin. She breathed harshly, thinking that maybe her friend Kurt was right: she should really start thinking about getting a boyfriend.

...

** AN: Soo, what do you think?**

** Next- they will finally realize that things changed and one of them will make a move.. Who do you think that would be? **

** I can't promise next (and last) chapter for tomorrow, because is really long and I have work, but reviews may help with motivation...**

** Please, review! :D**


	4. And Everything was Music

**AN: Last Chapter!**

**It was so amazing writing this and I'm so happy with all the reviews and fallows and favorites. Hope you like this ending!**

**I will translate my other stories, I'll publish the translated summaries on my tumblr (tenteitudonadadeu. tumblr. com), feel free to PM me if there's any one in particular that you would like to read..**

**- For the record, without all the drama regarding Quinn's pregnancy and all that jazz, the Glee Club is somewhat a little less problematic..**

**...**

**Part 4/4 – And Everything was Music**

**...**

**Age, 16. – A couple months later.**

A few months had passed after the little encounter between them and Sam and despite being neighbors, the two girls barely managed to see each other after that. Rachel was involved with the Glee Club, which oddly enough, was able to collect the minimal number of members to compete at Sectionals. Quinn, meanwhile, had enrolled in a school program to help her peers that had trouble learning English and was also taking extra arts lessons. All for the sake of a good resume. She wanted to get into a good university, preferably in NY, where she knew her best friend would be.

The very few moments they shared, however, were as amazing as ever. The familiarity one found in the other was reassuring in chaotic times and they just liked to talk, or rock in Rachel's swing and even walk through the mall (without Sam). Quinn only mentioned her friend once, briefly, to say he had serious trouble remembering the order of letters when writing.

But now it had been three weeks since they last talked and Rachel missed Quinn like crazy.

She came home at the end of a particularly grueling Tuesday and knocked on the door of the Fabray's house, being answered by Quinn, who mysteriously had 'heard' the doorbell ring.

Behind her stood a Judy with freshly done nails, which solved the mystery. She smiled and hugged the blonde(one of that hugs where your body relax completely against the other), without letting herself into the house, knowing that if she entered, would not be able to leave (and she really had a lot to do).

"Rachel, honey.. Why don't you come inside?"

"Not today, aunt Juds... I just came to say hi and get a hug."

"Too busy with school? Quinn told me about your little glee club."

"Yes, we have Sectionals this Thursday." She said, translating for Quinn at the same time.

"Oh.. I'm sure you'll be great, dear!" She proclaimed, before disappearing into the large house, leaving the girls alone.

_"So soon?"_ Quinn asked. She knew that her friend was going to perform, but didn't realize it would be that early in the school year, much less that it would be on a weekday. Her eyes scanned the little brunette's features carefully. _"Nervous?"_

Rachel bit on her lower lip and nodded.

_"Don't be..."_ She began to sign, but the brunette stopped her hands.

_"I know you have the English program on Thursdays afternoon, but I'd really love if were there for me."_ Quinn stared deeply into her eyes, but Rachel knew she also paid attention to her hands. _"There will be a deaf choir competing against us."_

_"Hoverbrook?"_ Lima had two schools for deaf kids, Helen Keller School for the Deaf, where the blonde attended and Hoverbrook.

"_Yeah.."_

_"Well, of course you will win then... Your Club would have to be really awful too lose to a bunch of deaf kids..."_

"Quinn" Rachel yelped, punching her shoulder lightly, unable to contain a snicker. "Don't be mean!" She spoke as signed.

"_But it's true!"_

...

**Thursday - Sectionals.**

Hours and hours of rehearsing for nothing! Rachel thought, smashing the sectional's program and throwing it violently on a trash bin, snorting when the crumbled paper failed to fall into the basket. The two songs they had so carefully prepared had been stolen by their rivals and she couldn't be more frustrated.

"Ok, Mercedes, do you have any other ballad on your repertoire?" She asked, trying to keep her cool.

"No." Mercedes answered from her place on the couch. "The deal was that I would be singing 'And I Am Telling You'..."

"Yes, but that's obviously out of question right now and we..."

"The truth, Rachel," Kurt cut her off, sounding unsure about what he was going to say. "Is that you are our best singer."

"But..."

"Come on, Rach, I know you got the perfect ballad on your sleeve..." Intruded Noah, standing up by her side with his arms crossed.

Rachel smiled against her will. "Well, there's something I've been working on since I was four..."

"Great, so we have a solo. Now we just have to find a group number." Artie clapped his hands together, trying to sound confident.

"How about 'Somebody to Love'?" Tina suggested. "It's a real crowd pleaser."

"Right..." Puck muttered sardonically.

"I think I have a solution..." Finn interjected, entering the room with a stack of sheet music in his hand.

"And where were you?" Asked Santana, who hadn't even noticed the absence of her more than spacious friend.

"I broke into the judges' room to print this..." He smiled crookedly at his friends, especially to Rachel, throwing the sheets on the table. "We can win this thing, guys."

...

And they did.

Rachel sang like never before, putting all her soul into the song. Her flawless performance plus the spontaneity of the group number had them winning first place with ease. They received the trophy and exchanged hugs on stage under a shower of tiny slips of silver paper. It was nice to win for a change... Almost magical..

The group split to change clothes after the presentation and it was determined that they would meet by the bus in one hour. Rachel dressed with no hurries, buttoning up the front of her plaid dress and thinking about stopping at Quinn's house to tell the news when she got back to Lima.

She picked up her red coat with one arm and her purse with the other, leaving the dressing room to bump into the person who had her thoughts.

"Quinn.." She breathed in surprise. Her friend was leaning against the wall, facing the dressing room's door. She was beautiful as always, with her hair up in a neat ponytail and wearing a pale brown sweater with golden threads that shone lazily in the low light above them. _"You're here! I didn't see you in the audience.."_ She signed, melting in her best friend's warm embrace.

_"Of course I'm here, it's your special day and you're special to me..." _She smiled and Rachel hugged her again, unable to contain her need for contact.

"_Thank you."_

Quinn hummed softly _"Actually, I just came for the deaf choir."_ She made the sign of sarcasm when finished talking and Rachel stuck a pink tongue in her direction.

They walked slowly to the glass doors. _"So what did you think?"_

_"It was cool."_ Quinn walked sideways in order to see her better._ "You were so beautiful! I just didn't like the song choice."_

"Why not?" Rachel asked loudly as she signed. Quinn didn't answer, only raised an eyebrow and the brunette's eyes widened, realizing the irony in her statement. Quinn was always making little jokes about being deaf and always took Rachel some time to get them (it was very hard to recognize sarcasm without a voice variation to help). Sometimes she would still forget that her friend couldn't hear.

_"There's something I want to ask you.."_ Quinn stated, looking a little anxious.

Rachel answered with a curious glance.

_"Is that freakishly tall guy your boyfriend?"_

"Finn?" She giggled quietly _"No! But I think he would like to be."_

_"And would _you_ like that?"_

The brunette thought she had seen a shadow cross her friend's hazel eyes, but it was probably just her imagination playing tricks again. (It happened often, especially when she was near Quinn.)

Rachel stopped to consider that. She liked Finn, he was a good friend, among other things. And they had gone out together twice and he had kissed her, how one would expect to happen, but she felt nothing. At least not what she thought it would feel like when she kissed the love of her life for the first time.

For some reason she had failed to tell Quinn about all that _"All the girls like him. He is popular, cute and nice too..."_

Quinn was starting to sign another question - because Rachel hadn't really clarified anything with her answer - when the topic of the conversation literally cut her line of thought.

"Hey, Rach! I thought you were already in the bus!"

"Not yet... This is my friend, Quinn." She introduced them and Finn turned to the blonde, acknowledging her for the first time and offering her a smile that he considered to be charming before turning back to Rachel.

"Listen, I was thinking, that day at the bowling alley was pretty great and I wanted... Do you want to go there again tonight?" He asked, with a boyish grin.

The brunette examined his face before casting a glance to her friend, who stared at the back of Finn's head with a look so cold that actually got her shivering. How could the boy not notice the power of Quinn's glare was a mystery to her.

"Sorry, Finn, but I already have plans with Quinn tonight." She lied without knowing exactly why (she never seemed to find the whys when it came to the blonde). She was glad that her friend had crossed the city just to watch her perform, and would really like to spend the rest of the day with her, but nothing was actually planned.

"Oh ..." His shoulders slumped and he scratched his neck "Maybe another time then, right?"

"We'll see, Finn..." She gave him a closed lip smile and he nodded sadly before leaving.

Quinn followed him with her eyes. "Asshole ..." She vocalized quietly, taking Rachel by surprise and making her laugh with the comment. The blonde joined her with a soft giggle and Rachel sighed contently. She loved that sound.

They resumed walking. _"So, what did he want?"_

_"To ask me out."_ She sighed.

The blonde blinked a few times and looked down. "_Sorry if got in the way."_

_"You didn't. I didn't want to go out with him in the first place."_

"Ahh .." The sound escaped the blonde's lips, who couldn't help but smile. She didn't like this this Finn guy very much. .

"Berry..." Santana nodded when they passed by her in their way out of the theater. "What's with the Barbie?"

"Santana, this is Quinn."

The cheerleader arched her eyebrows. "Woah.. She is real... That's new."

Rachel rolled her eyes, used to that kind of remark coming from the other brunette. Quinn nudged her shoulder lightly.

_"What is she saying?"_

Rachel quickly translated to the blonde, who threw Santana the same death glare she had directed to Finn a few seconds before.

"Wait, she's deaf?" Santana laughed scornfully. "That explains why she's your friend. Only a deaf person to put up with your endless rants... "

The little singer scowled at her teammate and translated for Quinn what she had just heard.

The blonde gave the latin girl a once over, her eyes scrutinized her from head to toes so coldly that un uncomfortable shudder crossed Santana's body. _"She's only jealous because you're a better singer."_ Quinn signed. _"And also because, somehow, you manage to be taller than her..."_

Rachel could not contain a chuckle and stood on her tiptoes to place a grateful kiss on Quinn's cheek.

"Why are you laughing? What'd she say? "

"It's none of your business, Lopez." The brunette replied, waving briefly before grabbing Quinn's hand and pulling her toward the parking lot. _"How did you get here?"_

The blonde pointed to her red New Beatle (birthday present from her parents), parked a few feet from where they stood. _"And you?"_

_"Bus."_

The blonde bit her lip, pushing back some blond strands that had escaped her ponytail. _"Want a ride home?"_

_"I'd love that."_ Rachel answered without thinking twice.

"Sup, Babe, who's your girlfriend?"

Rachel felt a knot form in her stomach at the word 'girlfriend'. She glanced over her shoulder to find Puck pushing Artie's empty chair toward the bus. For a second she wanted to ask where the owner of said chair was, but then decided it was probably better not.

"Hello Noah..." She smiled brilliantly. Rachel liked him, he was a good friend. "This is Quinn." She introduced the blonde briefly.

"She's hot..."

Rachel translated and Quinn wrinkled her nose. _"He is disgusting..."_

The brunette cleared her throat. She was so not going say that to her friend. "She said thank you..."

"You got my number, right, Berry?"

"Yes, why?"

"You tell your girlfriend to call me sometime ..." He winked at Quinn and Rachel sighed while translating.

The blonde grimaced, shaking her head in confusion. _"Why would I want to do that?"_

Rachel bit her lip to keep from smiling. "She said she'll text you ..."

That earned her a smug grin from him.

"Noah, could you please inform Miss. Pillsbury that I'll take a ride home with Quinn?"

"Maybe... What's in it for me?"

"I'll give her your number. What else do you want?" She asked, not even starting to feel bad about lying to him. Never in a million years, she would give Noah's number to her best friend, and it was comforting to know that even if she did, Quinn would never use it.

"Hmm, sounds fair..." He nodded, waving for them before proceeding to cross the parking lot.

Rachel laced her fingers with Quinn's happily. _"Shall we?"_

...

The drive back to Lima was quiet, since Quinn couldn't sign and drive at the same time and also had no radio in the car, but Rachel didn't mind the silence. She was still so glad by the fact that her best friend had come to see her and that they had actually won first place.

They fell back into conversation at the Fabray's house, sitting side by side on the living room couch.

"_What does it feels like? Singing for an audience like that?"_

_"It was.. I don't know.. I'm not sure I can put into words..." _Rachel shrugged._ "I felt as if nothing else existed, just me and the music and the heat from the stage lights. As if suddenly, my body no longer existed, I was just sound... "_

Quinn loved seeing Rachel talk about music, she was always so passionate and Quinn felt as if for a moment, she could understand and share the feelings music evoked to those who could really hear.

_"You sang Don't Rain on my Parade, right?"_

Rachel raised her eyebrows. _"How do you know that?"_

_"I was listening..."_ Quinn winked with a smirk. _"It's your favorite song, I've seen you singing it a thousand times... And you always have the same look when you sing." _Explained the blonde.

Rachel smiled up at her.

_"Can you translate the other one for me?"_

The brunette nodded. _"You Can't Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones."_

_"Rolling Stones."_ Quinn frowned. _"I don't get it... Why would anyone name a band 'rolling stones'?"_

Rachel sat up to respond when realized that she didn't have an answer for that. "It's a good question." she muttered, more to herself than for Quinn, who seemed to read her lips.

_"Sing to me."_ The blonde signed, shifting a little closer to her friend and hesitating for a moment before placing a soft hand on Rachel's cheek, like she always did when she wanted to feel the vibrations of her voice.

Rachel smiled and started singing softly as she signed the lyrics to Quinn.

...

The blonde had a different smile on her face, more expressive than usual, even though Rachel couldn't say exactly what it expressed. The greenish orbs stared at her with such intensity that the diva was sure if she stopped signing, Quinn wouldn't even notice.

And that's what she did, her hands stopped moving in the middle of chorus and her voice trembled, ceasing shortly after. She blinked a few times and moistened her lips, feeling her mouth dry all of a sudden. Then, without even realizing what she was doing, she leaned forward. A spark of gold ran through her friend's eyes, and Quinn moved her thumb against Rachel's cheek, leaning in and closing the space between them with a gentle kiss.

Rachel didn't respond at first, too shocked to control her own body. Quinn's lips were so soft and sweet and she found herself completely dumbfounded until the blonde started to pull away and then Rachel jumped out of her trance. She brought a hand to her neck, releasing her ponytail in order to see just how soft Quinn's golden locks felt against her fingers, extending the kiss, and making the blond whimper.

Rachel's body shuddered when she felt Quinn's tongue caress her own for a brief moment and a low moan escaped her throat. The blond smiled against her lips and she was sure her friend had noticed the noise.

They broke apart, both panting for air after a few minutes and Quinn rested her temple against the brunette's.

"Rachel..." She whispered, making the singer's heart stop beating. Quinn had never said her name out loud before. She knew her friend had a voice, but also knew how much she hated to use it, once she had trouble controlling volume and intensity. Either way, Quinn's voice had never sounded so beautiful.

They shared another kiss, deeper and that much tender, and Rachel felt a lump form in her throat, realizing for how long she had wanted to feel exactly that: the butterflies, the light head, the tiny explosions of color that appeared to be happening in her brain, the goose bumps all over her body and most of all, the steady beat of Quinn's heart against her own chest. She had never noticed how strong her feelings for Quinn were until that moment, all she wanted to do was kiss her and hold her and never let go...

But then she heard the sound of the front door being unlocked and broke the kiss abruptly, her heart shattered with the pained look that went through the blonde's eyes when they parted.

_"Your parents are here."_ She was quick to explain, sitting a little further back on the couch.

Quinn shrugged, as if to say 'So what?'

_"They would see us kissing."_

Again, the blonde shrugged. She really didn't care if her parents saw them, mostly because she planned on kissing Rachel many other times now that the first kiss had happened.

Rachel, however, didn't know how to react. _"Remember how angry your dad got when we were eight and he caught Fran kissing that boy after prom?"_

_"It's different, they like you..."_

_"I don't think they would if they saw what we were doing..."_

"Rachel!" Russell's voice came from behind her and she slowly turned around, trying not to look so guilty. "I thought Quinn was alone..."

"Hi, Mr. Fabray... Do you need help with the groceries?"

"No, dear... I've got this..." Judy waked past him, hanging the car keys on the hook above the phone and taking a bag from his hands. The entire time, Rachel could feel Quinn's gaze on her face.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, the blonde's fingers touched her chin, forcing her to look up.

_"Why do you think they would stop liking you?"_

_"You're Catholic, isn't that a little obvious?"_

Again she shrugged. _"I've never paid attention to the sermon, the ASL translator was terrible."_

_"Well, your religion says being gay is a sin."_ Rachel felt very hypocritical when she realized what had just come out of her mouth (or hands).

They stared at each other for a long minute.

Quinn's eyes were soft. _"Are you scared?"_

Rachel sighed and the blonde tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. Judy decided to emerge from the kitchen at that moment and the little diva tugged her arm down before nodding, her eyes were filled with tears.

_"Please, don't be scared... I like you so much..."_

_"I like you too.. Quinn..."_ She replied, feeling a sudden wave of despair. _"I don't... I can't lose you."_

"Will you stay for dinner, Rachel, sweetheart?"

She lifted her head to find Russell's blue eyes. "Not today, I have... things." Rachel bit her tongue and stood up, grabbing her bag.

Quinn stood up too. "Rachel... No..." She spoke out loud again, earning a surprised look from her parents. The petite brunette hugged her, pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth, away from Russell's eyes. She signed 'later' with her thumb against her palm before leaving the house in a hurry.

...

Judy opened the door to her daughter's room cautiously, it had been 40 minutes she and Russell had seen Rachel leave and Quinn had run upstairs. She sat on the bed next to the blonde, who lied on her stomach with her face buried in the pillow.

Russell showed up a few seconds later to find his wife stroking Quinn's back, trying to make her flip up. Quinn always did that when something was bothering her, since she was a child. She closed her eyes and literally shut down the whole world.

He tugged at her foot until she turned up, with red eyes and a murderous look on her face.

_"What happened?"_ He asked, folding his arms and sitting beside his wife.

_"You and Rachel are fighting?"_ Judy asked, running a hand through her messy hair fondly.

Quinn's lower lip trembled and her eyes became impossibly sad. Judy hugged her tightly and allowed her to cry before asking again what had happened.

_"I like Rachel. A lot."_ She said, still crying, but a little calmer.

_"What did she do to make you so sad?"_ Russell asked, genuinely concerned. The only time he had seen his daughter cry like that was when she fell off the swing when she was 5 and was startled by the amount of blood that came out of the gash on her forehead.

_"She said you wouldn't like her anymore if you saw us."_

The two Fabray's exchanged a puzzled look. .

_"I think she likes me too, but she is afraid that you'll be mad."_ She sniffled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand and blowing her nose on the handkerchief her mother handed her before continuing to sign. _"She said you'd think is a sin."_

_"What is a sin, Quinnie?"_ Judy felt like she knew the answer, but had to ask anyway.

_"Being gay."_

She and Russell exchanged yet another look, partly shocked, partly lost. Quinn had never shown signs that she could be interested in other girls. Although she also never showed any interest in boys.

Only Rachel.

Always Rachel.

_"This is a really serious thing to say, Quinn... Are you sure?"_ Mr. Fabray ducked a bit, trying to catch his daughter's eyes

Quinn breathed shakily, but her response was unwavering. _"Yes."_

_"You have been friends since forever... Isn't whatever you feel for Rachel... Can't it be just friendship?"_ He continued questioning, wanting to clarify the situation before intervening in an exaggerated way.

_"I feel friendship. And love as well." _She wiped her bloodshot eyes once more. _"I feel jealous when she's around boys, like the one who sang with her today. And I felt my heart ache when we kissed, but the pain was good."_

"Oh, dear ..." Judy mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

Quinn blew her nose again. _"Do you think it's wrong?"_ She looked directly at her dad, feeling that his opinion would be much more important than her mother's (he could always influence Judy, one way or another).

Russell took a deep breath, feeling millions of contradictory things at the same time. Part of him wanted to say yes, it was wrong, that was not normal, but then again, how could it be wrong? Rachel had two dads. Hiram and Leroy were one of the most stable couples he had ever met. And Quinn...

He simply couldn't stand seeing all that pain inside Quinn's hazel eyes. "No, it is not wrong." He spoke out loud, holding her hands in his and watching her follow the movement of his lips.

The youngest blonde hugged him before he could say anything else.

Judy hesitated for a second, trying to digest the news that had just been thrown at her. She ran a hand through Quinn's shoulders, causing her to let go of Russell and look up. _"I could never be mad at you for loving someone.. Especially Rachel."_ She signed, pulling her daughter into her lap, exchanging a quivering smile with her husband before softly kissing her forehead.

...

**Rachel**

"What's wrong with you tonight? You're too quiet. Isn't she quiet, honey?" Hiram stated, pointing his fork in his daughter direction, who sat silently in front of them, toying with the food on her plate.

"Yes .. I guess I've never seen her so quiet..." Leroy agreed with a frown.

"Do you think it might be the shock from winning Sectionals even after being sabotaged?"

"It's a possibility." He nodded. "But she seemed excited when she called me earlier."

Rachel looked up, feeling tired and upset and angry with her fathers. "I'm sitting right here!" She exclaimed, pushing the plate forward and crossing her arms over the table.

"Then please, explain your bad mood." Leroy requested, sounding concerned. The girl in front of him looked like a completely different Rachel... She had grown so fast ... He thought, resting his chin on a closed fist.

Rachel crumpled and then smoothed her napkin in a kind of nervous twitch. She wanted to talk to her dads about what happened with Quinn, but was afraid they would be disappointed on her for falling in love with another girl, and not just any girl, but her best friend.

"You know you can talk to us, don't you, little star?" Hiram reached for her hand across the table and she sighed.

"Something happened today and..." She covered her eyes with one hand. "I don't know what to do..."

"What happened, Princess?" Leroy questioned softly when noticed the bright trail of tears that had appeared on her cheeks.

"Quinn, she... We..." The doorbell chose that moment to ring and Rachel winced at the sound. She swallowed the words and stood up. "I'll get it." She would do anything to delay that conversation and she was not proud of it.

She gulped when the door opened. Her insides seemed to melt and she felt extremely nauseous. Russell and Judy Fabray stared at her strangely and a red nosed Quinn was right beside them.

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out, she ran a hand over her face realizing that her tears were still fresh when Leroy's voice came from the hallway.

"Who is it, Rach?" The brunette glanced at him. She was trapped. "Russell, Judy? Something happened?" He asked, stopping by her side .

"Yes," Judy said in one breath.

"I think we need to talk, Rachel..." Russell said, looking directly at her with a look that Rachel interpreted as intimidating.

Leroy looked at his daughter and saw guilt in her deep brown eyes. "Rachel, what did you do?"

...

**Living room (without Quinn)**

Rachel felt absurdly small under the stare of the Fabrays. She was sitting in the loveseat while they faced her from the couch. No one had spoken so far and she was not sure whether to do the first move or not. Her nature said she should apologize, but her instincts disagreed with that.

So she remained silent, wishing that Quinn had stayed downstairs with them. She needed to see the blonde more than anything. Maybe seeing her would help to clarify what was going on in her head.

"So, Rachel..." Russell broke the silence, squeezing his wife's hand. "We just had a conversation with Quinn and she told us."

The brunette felt her face grow hot and her eyes flew to her own parents, who were standing by the piano, following the conversation. She wished they were anywhere else.

"I honestly don't know how to proceed here." Continued Mr. Fabray. "She... Our daughter... She..."

"She really likes you, Rachel." Judy completed in a low voice. "That's why we're here."

Rachel looked from one to the other, trying to ignore the confused expression on her daddy's face.

"We're not angry, Rachel."

"And we'll not stop loving you, or forbid you in our home because of what happened."

Rachel pursed her lips, breathing through her nose for the first time since she had answered the door. "You... won't?" She cleared her throat. "And you really know what happened?"

Russell nodded.

"Quinn kissed me." She clarified a bit skeptical, Hiram gasped in surprise. She averted her eyes before continuing. "And I kissed her back."

"She told us, dear..." Judy confirmed. Her green eyes were both sad and full of acceptance (which was the last thing Rachel expected to find in them).

"Rachel..." Russell called, his voice made her want to cry (she didn't know why). "We're not here to judge you, or Quinn. You two are practically adults. We can't control what you do, much less the way you feel..."

She ran a hand through her hair, she was shaking so hard. A small smile reached her eyes. Did that mean it was okay? She wanted it to be...

"You make her so happy, ever since you're little kids... You were the one person who learned a whole new language just to be friends with her." Judy murmured.

"She's always different when you're around, better, while still being our Quinn..." The smile on Russell's face made her own increase millimetrically. "I'm not saying you have to be with her, I don't even know if you like her that way, but if you do, we just wanted to say..." He exchanged a brief glance with his wife. "Well, you'll always have our approval, Rachel."

The petite brunette lost control of her smile, which expanded to full power. Some salty tears (new ones, because once again she had started to cry) entered her mouth and she chuckled nervously, not believing what she had just heard.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up, meeting Leroy's dark eyes.

"You know better than anyone that love will never be a sin.. At least not in our house."

Hiram agreed with him. "What do you feel for Quinn, little star?"

"I don't know... I think... I think I may have fallen in love with her." Her mind went back to a few months before, when she had realized that for the first time, in the mall trip where she met Sam, and then earlier, when she was only 10 and heard Quinn's laugh for the first time. Suddenly, she was lost in memories of intimate conversations and light touches and beautiful hazel eyes. Her heart jumped in her chest and she remembered that first day, ten years in the past, when her heart had done the exact same thing. Quinn had always made her heart beat faster. "In fact, I guess I've always loved her..."

Russell sighed loudly. "So I think you should tell her that ..."

...

**Rachel's room.**

"Rachel..."

The brunette's stomach was filled with butterflies again and her heart did a back flip when she was received in her own room by Quinn's voice. She would never get tired of hearing her own name in that voice.

The blonde got up from the bed and stared down at her with a wary expression. Greenish eyes insisted on crying even though she wanted them to stop. The tears seemed to accentuate the blend of colors in them and though devastated, Quinn had never looked so breathtakingly beautiful to Rachel.

The brunette said nothing, and didn't sign either. She had learned how important it was to respect the silence, and also, words were not needed. They met halfway in the middle of the room and Rachel caressed the light pink trail of tears that was visible in Quinn's porcelain skin with her thumb.

A charged look was exchanged between them and the brunette stretched up on her toes, joining their lips tentatively. The kiss was not awkward as it had been with Finn, neither superficial like Noah's, but rather delicate. Quinn didn't attempt to stick her tongue inside her mouth, or anything, only moved her lips gently on a series of small kisses.

And it was so intimate, in a way, because they gave themselves completely to each other and to the feelings they shared. And even if it wasn't the deepest of kisses, certainly was the most perfect. Rachel searched for Quinn's hands on her hips and played with her fingers, closing and opening them a few times without breaking the kiss.

It was only when they pulled away that Quinn noticed that Rachel had arranged them to form a sign and a wet laugh bubbled from her chest when she became aware of what it meant. She squeezed her waist and kissed Rachel again, still laughing against her lips before folding her best friend's fingers to match her own.

They looked at their hands for a moment, knowing that sign meant everything would be okay...

Rachel rested her head on Quinn's chest and smiled softly at their fingers.

To the sign that said: I love you.

...

If someone asked what it felt like to love Rachel, Quinn would say it was like music because she couldn't explain it, just feel. And it was all so intense, and sometimes she felt like crying (from happiness) or laughing at herself...

And she was so happy because she finally understood (in her own way) what music meant.

Music was Rachel.

And she loved music...

...

**AN: **The 'I love you' sign is universal, is the union of the letters 'I', 'L' and 'Y'. Consists in the pinky, thumb and forefinger up and the other two fingers folded against the palm of your hand. It has the same meaning everywhere, which I guess, means that love is also universal...

**Please, review.. **


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